China-Australia relations: Canberra’s new top diplomat Penny Wong part of ‘damage control’ mission to woo Pacific nations and fix harm caused by Scott Morrison

Diplomacy stepped up under new leader Anthony Albanese in bid to stop ‘ignoring’ and ‘disrespecting’ and also counter China’s influence in region

Experts say Australia is trying to improve ties undermined by former PM; they also say rejection by 10 Pacific nations of a Chinese security deal shows a blatant refusal to be part of ‘Beijing’s broader international agenda’

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Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Photo: Kyodo

Published: 5:45pm, 1 Jun 2022Updated: 5:57pm, 1 Jun 2022

Australia’s move in recent days to step up diplomacy in the Pacific, in response to China’s increasing engagement in the region, is a sign that Canberra is undertaking “damage control” and repairing the rift between Australia and the region, analysts said.

However, the rejection by the 10 Pacific nations of the wide-ranging Chinese security deal on Monday indicates these countries did not want to be part of Beijing’s broader international agenda, experts said.

Noting that the rejection also sent the message that China had not taken the needs and concerns of these countries into consideration, analysts also said that diplomatic pressure from Australia or the United States did not appear to have much to do with the decision taken by the Pacific states.

In response to Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s ongoing 10-day diplomatic tour of eight Pacific island states, aimed at expanding Chinese military, economic and diplomatic influence in the South Pacific, Australia also dispatched its new foreign minister Penny Wong to Fiji last week.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) with Tongan Foreign Minister Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu, in Tonga on Tuesday. Photo: Xinhua

There, Wong told Pacific nations that amid growing uncertainty, Canberra still wants to be a partner of choice for the region and said the area’s security should be determined by itself.

“We are a partner who can be trusted and reliable, and historically we have been,” Wong said, adding that Canberra would listen to the Pacific nations while acknowledging that they had been “ignored” and “disrespected” in the past.